At what point do you stop buying and start renting?

I have just begun my book collection 3-4 years ago, I have about 3-4 series, which about anywhere from 7-14 books. I am just curious as to when anyone decides to rent a book instead of going to the store and dishing out $20-30 for a hardcover.

Reason I am asking is because I just finished The Gathering Storm(WOT) and that book wasnt cheap, it also didnt take me long to finish it either. My next series I think will be The Blade Itself, but those are still in hardcover.

You can always just buy used books or wait until further in publication to buy the book when the price lowers... At this day and age, if you do proper research it should be quite uncommon to find the need to buy a book in the $20-30 range.

Buy special editions of the books you really love.
No need to buy everything you've ever read.

Most of the books I have are there because they've made it into my sort of, Hall of Fame. Actually, of the books I have on shelves and laying about, most of'em I haven't read. I've read the paperback editions or listened to the audiobook versions, but the actual physical books (usually leather-bound, and/or signed, or slip-case cloth bound) are still virgins, never even cracked open in most cases.

For myself, I just don't like the smell of old books, especially paperbacks.
To me they smell like an antique shop, like death.

Sharing my books with friends who may be on the fence about a particular author

Those would be the main reasons I choose to buy. Everyone has different reasons though and for some, it doesn't make sense for them to buy very often.

Same. I hate reading other people's books. I like to own what I read, plus I have the collector's bug. I've never taken a book from a library and I don't think I've read more then 4 or 5 books that friends gave me..

Same. I hate reading other people's books. I like to own what I read, plus I have the collector's bug. I've never taken a book from a library and I don't think I've read more then 4 or 5 books that friends gave me..

I had a lit professor in college--a real old timer with pictures of him at the beat writers up on the wall--and he once told the class that he would never buy a book unless he planned to read it more than twice. At the time I totally disagreed with him.

Later I had a girlfriend whose father was a huge SciFi fan in his earlier years. He offered me a collection of boxes packed away in his basement with thousands of his old paperbacks inside. I politely declined and got to thinking: am I a reader, or a book collector?

Once my own fantasy collection grew to more than 200 paperbacks and hardcovers I opted to donate to the local library instead of adding a second bookshelf. Nowadays I only buy authors who are still trying to make it in the industry, like Abercrombie, or ones that aren't carried at the library.

Not owning certainly has its disadvantages. I donated the first six books of Malazan and gave away my copies of ASOIAF to a friend who had borrowed mine to read it and was much more likely to read it a second and third time. My bookshelf is far more manageable because of it, but now I can't go back and reread or jog my memory.

On a slightly OT note, do any of you loan your books to others? I haven't seen my copy of Name of the Wind in 18 months and I'm not sure I'm ever getting my Bakker books back. I really enjoy sharing my favorite titles with friends but sometimes they end up in boxes packed away and I go without.

I only give books to my closest friends or people I'm sure are gonna return them in a normal condition. I am not anal when it comes to books, but I like to take some care of them. Underlining, corner folding, leaving the book open for days on end - big no-nos with me.

I only give books to my closest friends or people I'm sure are gonna return them in a normal condition. I am not anal when it comes to books, but I like to take some care of them. Underlining, corner folding, leaving the book open for days on end - big no-nos with me.

Hah, yes. What about creasing? I'm not sure how my handling of books differs from others, but I've had multiple people boggle at the condition of my paperback's spines.

The worst was when I loaned my buddy my copy of Middlesex (with an inscription from a good friend who had given it to me one Christmas), and he loved it so much he loaned it to his mom, who in turn managed to spill liquid on it. And then she returned it to me in that condition.

I have just begun my book collection 3-4 years ago, I have about 3-4 series, which about anywhere from 7-14 books. I am just curious as to when anyone decides to rent a book instead of going to the store and dishing out $20-30 for a hardcover.

Reason I am asking is because I just finished The Gathering Storm(WOT) and that book wasnt cheap, it also didnt take me long to finish it either. My next series I think will be The Blade Itself, but those are still in hardcover.

Do you ever order online from Amazon, etc.? It's a lot cheaper than buying in a store. Hardcovers are usually well under $20 new.

Where are you that you only have Abercrombie in hardcover? The paperbacks have been available in the states for a while--these are trade paperbacks though but are about $11 each bought new from Amazon.

I just recently started using the library. For years, I insisted that owning books was the only way to go, or the only way for me anyway. I had to have hardcovers, first editions, and I had to have it as soon as it was published. Then two things happened -- the house was filling up with books, read once, put away on a shelf or in a closet -- and the budget got tight, really tight.

I bit the bullet a couple months ago and started going to the library. It's a huge relief, not having to find space for everything I want to read, and not having to choose between gas for the car and the latest John Connolly title. I can try new writers without worrying about whether I'm wasting my money.

The only downside is that library books aren't always as clean as I'd like. "What's that smudge? Chocolate? Ooh, are those bread crumbs?" Blech. But that's rare, and so far nothing has rubbed off.

I may never buy another book, and I'm fine with that. I looked at my Amazon history the other day and started adding up what I'd spent on books that I could have read for free. It was disheartening, to say the least.

When I was in college and working part time, I used the library all the time, as I was very poor. Now I buy the stuff I want and usually end up giving it away to a friend I believe might enjoy it. I have gotten maaany people to read Song of Ice and Fire this way :P

I buy used hardbacks from either Amazon, or my used book store. I don't spend more then $4 on a hardback from the book store, and get them as cheap as $0.15 plus 3.99 shipping on Amazon. But I only get them in very good condition.